they weren't lying when they said that the city of geneva basically shuts down on the weekends, and especially on sundays. at first, i didn't believe them, in a city like this where could everyone possibly go? after experiencing it for myself, i understand that everyone does what humans should do on sundays. they grab their mini grill, block of cheese, bottle of wine, and head to the hills on the shores of lake geneva. if they aren't one of the many sailors sailing on the lake.
there were way too many people to even attempt to count. i can't wait to get some free time and take a swim in the lake. even though lake geneva is a glacier lake, the water is pretty warm right now. it still feels like summer here since the temperatures have been in the 80's. pretty much the whole shoreline is open game for swimming. people were everywhere!
so that's the nice, peaceful, and normal part of my day...now on to the random, annoying, and extremely sweaty parts of my day.
first of all...this guy's hair...takes all-natural to a whole new level. wow.
for about the three days i've been here i've been wandering around with about 10 francs (pretty equal to $10) in my purse (whats left after exchanging $50 dollars at the train station, and getting groceries) and no bus pass, since everything is closed on the weekends. not that i need a bus pass, but it would have been really handy a few times. since public transport in geneva is based on the honor system, they never check tickets. i feel like a horribe person for the few times i've just casually walked onto the bus and caught a ride home. i will buy a ticket, i promise, i'm from iowa...someone help me.
also, i never really realized how hard it would be to read a public transport map at first. it's even harder because you have to really pay attention and hope the screens are on that display the next stops, because my french isn't good enough to understand it over the loudspeaker.
by saying my french isn't "good enough" means that it's pathetically non-existent at this point. i feel so bad about it. the nicest little old man saw me gawking at the bus sign trying to figure out how to get to the main station. he rambled off a bunch of french so quickly, all i heard was station and he proceeded to point across the street. i smiled, said merci (thankyou), and i think might have given him a thumbs-up. he totally had to know that i was soooo clueless. but thankful for his help.
i made it all the way to the main train station and found an atm machine, desperately wanting to have more than 10 francs with me. just in case. there's nothing more frustrating than getting over here and having a pocket full of somewhat worthless dollar bills. to exchange them isn't exactly worth it because fees are so crazy the people basically rob you and it took a while to find an atm. so, i make it to the atm only to realize that i don't have the slightest clue what my pin number is. back home i always run it as credit so why would i waste the brain capacity to remember something like that?! i could really use someone in my life that knows financials and actually pays attention. haha. back to my apartment i go, stealing another ride on the bus, still only 10 francs in my purse. maybe next time.
next straight up weird happening of the day: there's this jungle gym type thing on the way from my apartment to the lake that i pass by almost every day. it doesn't matter what time it is, but theres always at least 5 or 6 super jacked guys doing pull-ups, push-ups and any crazy fitness move imaginable. today as i'm walking by, this guy is doing pullups with this lady on his back, after about 30 or so of those, she climbs up on his shoulders (like 3 year olds do to their dads at the zoo) and he starts doing lunges across the cement. i probably stood there and stared too long, but i wasn't the only one. such random things you see in cities.
after a crazy day, that i wouldn't classify as absolutely horrible, i decided that maybe a little church time woud be a good idea. plus, at a basillica, in english, a little time to relax can't hurt. pray to God to help me keep my life together. it was an absolutely beautiful place and i'm sad i didn't take a few more pictures.
there's just something about being surrounded by familiarity. for the first time everyone around me was speaking english and the mass was said just how it always is. i won't ever be complaining about church being hot or the kneelers being hard. there was no air conditioning, sweat was literally running down my back the whole time and the kneelers were just wooden planks. it was totally worth every second though. a little piece of home!
i'm really looking forward to tomorrow. french class in the morning and then sightseeing around geneva! i'm so looking forward to interacting with a few other humans my age. i added some geneva photos to the gallery! check those out! :)